After quite some time, Lei Dong dragged his somewhat exhausted body back to the encampment where the Third Squad was stationed. It was a luxurious manor, the old lair of some subordinate who had fled with Ning Xiao, and conveniently, a spiritual vein ran directly beneath it. As soon as Lei Dong arrived home, Zhang Heng rushed over to offer his concern, transmitting urgently via voice message, "Lei Dong, did the Hall Master make things difficult for you?"

Lei Dong very much wanted to break down and complain about being troubled. Of course, if he dared to speak the truth, that gū nǎinai (the formidable mistress/lady) wouldn't allow him to have an easy life again. He could only force a smile and say, "No trouble. It's just that the Hall Master and my master are old acquaintances with a good relationship. So, she kept me a bit longer to offer pointers on my cultivation."

This remark filled Zhang Heng with envy: "Direct guidance from a Nascent Soul cultivator! This kind of fortune cannot be earned even in eight lifetimes of cultivation." He sighed again, "Actually, our Hall Master truly is quite good to these small soldiers." Immediately after, he relayed some news he had obtained from Commander Ouyang.

Lei Dong also fell silent; he was indeed somewhat moved. When news reached her ears that Lei Dong's small squad had nearly been ambushed and killed on South Seventy-Six Island, this formidable lady was instantly furious. It was precisely because of this that the Sect had made up its mind to contend with the Heavenly Sound Palace. Of course, the Sect’s current assertiveness wasn't solely due to the near-assassination attempt on Lei Dong’s squad. That incident was merely a catalyst.

The Yin Sha Sect had the most hostile relationship with the Heavenly Sound Palace among all the so-called Orthodox Sects.

The reason was simple: the two top-tier Sects were too close geographically. Although most of the Central Continent’s territory was separated by the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the intermediary faction, only a very small portion was directly connected. However, through daily friction, the accumulated conflicts between the two sides had steadily increased, leading to numerous frictions and clashes, piling up new grudges upon old ones. These contradictions were bound to erupt eventually.

The most critical reason lay in the Sea Region of the East Sea Star Islands. This expanse of ocean contained countless islands blessed with spiritual veins, which had fostered the gradual migration of innumerable rogue cultivators and small families to this area. Since the majority of mortals residing here were descendants of cultivators, the ratio of mortals to cultivators in the East Sea Star Islands was exceptionally high. The entire territory was vast beyond measure, far exceeding the domains of either the Yin Sha or Heavenly Sound Sects individually. With a massive number of cultivators and inherently abundant natural resources.

The Yin Sha Sect coveted the vast resources the Heavenly Sound Palace obtained annually from this region. Conversely, the Heavenly Sound Palace resented the Yin Sha Sect for constantly interfering in their affairs. Especially concerning the area of South Seventy-Six Island, though not large, it occupied a crucial strategic transportation node. Although some high-quality flying vessels could bypass South Seventy-Six Island and fly directly to the mainland, for the vast majority of rogue cultivators and small families, South Seventy-Six Island was the vital artery for entering and exiting the East Sea Star Islands region. Many people would stop there to rest or trade goods.

Such an important location had been seized and controlled first by the Yin Sha Sect. For the Heavenly Sound Palace, this felt like a sharp object lodged in their throat—utterly unbearable. It wasn't just South Seventy-Six Island; throughout the entire East Sea Star Islands Sea Region, the Yin Sha Sect repeatedly vied for resources and opposed the Heavenly Sound Palace.

Thus, rather than saying the two sides escalated to a major conflict over a minor incident, it was more accurate to say their friction had already reached an irreconcilable stage, necessitating a contest through warfare.

Fortunately, while both sides outwardly presented a facade of irreconcilable enmity, as if they would fight to the death, their respective Sect Masters and Nascent Soul Elders had already met and negotiated. They unanimously agreed that a full-scale war would inevitably result in mutual annihilation. Therefore, while war was unavoidable, it had to be contained within certain limits. The two sides would engage in combat using fixed strength levels, ultimately deciding the final ownership of the East Sea Star Islands Sea Region.

There was a reason for the rationality of these two major Sects. Being top-tier powers, their strength might wax and wane with fortunes, but in reality, it was exceedingly difficult for any single top-tier Sect to completely eradicate another. Even if victorious, the survivors might not be capable of upholding the glory of a top-tier Sect; perhaps they would sink to the level of merely a high-tier Sect.

Following intense verbal sparring and negotiations, the two parties finally decided to place the battleground within the East Sea Star Islands Sea Region. Using the coastline as the boundary, the vast sea area on one side of the coast would become the battlefield. The mainland on the other side of the coastline would be designated a ceasefire zone. This was a product of mutual stubbornness yielding to compromise. Within the sea region, they could fight however they pleased. Once outside the sea region, disciples from both sides were forbidden from fighting. Furthermore, they set limits on the deployment of core Sect disciples: the Yin Sha Sect could only send members from the Third Battalion of the War Hall to participate, while the Heavenly Sound Palace could only deploy members of their Second Hall of Guardians. Each side could send one Nascent Soul Ancestor to oversee the situation. To prevent drawing too many personnel into units like the Third Battalion or Second Hall, they devised a regulation: the number of Foundation Establishment disciples participating on each side could not exceed fifty, and Golden Core cultivators could not exceed three.

Neither of the two great Sects wished to fight until mutual annihilation and then be picked clean by others. Strength was paramount; it was what commanded respect and deterred interference. The loss of strength would inevitably lead to being preyed upon by the masses.

Of course, limiting the dispatch of one's own disciples did not preclude the use of recruited cannon fodder. The life and death of rogue cultivators and members of small families were of little concern to the two great Sects. The leaders of both Sects unanimously avoided dwelling on this matter during their meeting. Their primary concerns were the survival of their core disciples and the ultimate control over the East Sea Star Islands. The Sect leaders also discussed the commencement time of the war: three months from then.

During this intervening period, both sides were expected to exercise restraint as much as possible.

All of this information was what Zhang Heng, as the squad leader, had just been specially instructed about by Ouyang Mi. Zhang Heng, in turn, informed Lei Dong in advance, partly to curry favor.

Lei Dong was somewhat speechless; a vast and unpredictable war had ultimately been reduced to a localized conflict. Of course, Lei Dong also deemed this normal. A true war between two top-tier Sects would only benefit a third party. He merely wondered if the Sect would employ methods like personnel rotation, transferring experts from other units like the First or Second Battalions to bolster the Third Battalion. Even fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators would see a significant difference in combat effectiveness depending on their level of elite training.

Naturally, this was not something Lei Dong needed to worry about. His task was simply to wait quietly for orders and then execute them. Warfare was inherently unpredictable, and even the most powerful individuals faced the constant possibility of perishing. Lei Dong did not wish to die meaninglessly at such a young age.

The only thing he could do was to become stronger. The stronger he became, the higher his chances of survival in the war. Behind the station was a large mountain facing the sea. Lei Dong flew up to this location, sat cross-legged on the summit, gazing at the surging sea, and contemplated how to make himself stronger. The first aspect was the ability to escape. Lei Dong had researched this to some extent: the personal flight speed of a nascent Golden Core cultivator, unless their movement technique was truly heaven-defying, could briefly surge to about three thousand li per shichen (a two-hour period). Of course, such terrifying extreme speed was hard to maintain for long.

If using a flying artifact, the performance depended on its quality. A low-grade flying artifact was subpar; its efficiency was only comparable to a high-grade flying spiritual tool. Coupled with the cultivation of an early Golden Core cultivator, the maximum burst speed would only reach about twenty-five hundred li per shichen. This speed was about five hundred li faster than Lei Dong's current speed when using a high-grade flying spiritual tool.

This wasn't simply because the Golden Core cultivator was slightly stronger than Lei Dong. While cultivation level does affect the speed of a flying artifact, the influence is quite limited; most of the speed depended on the artifact itself.

Lei Dong's current use of the supreme-grade Ghost Banner, when pushed to maximum acceleration, could achieve about three thousand li per shichen. This was faster than a Golden Core cultivator using a low-grade flying artifact. This meant that if Lei Dong encountered a newly ascended, relatively poor Golden Core cultivator, he might stand a chance of escaping with his life. However, the issue was that Golden Core cultivators, even rogue cultivators or family members, found earning money significantly easier than Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Consequently, a normal Golden Core cultivator who had been active for some years and had some savings would rarely use a low-grade flying artifact—it would be too embarrassing. They would always find a way to acquire a mid-grade flying artifact. Against such individuals, Lei Dong would be in danger, as their burst speed could very likely surpass his own. Even a slight edge would be fatal.

However, relying purely on the Ghost Banner for escape was also unreliable. Both flying spiritual tools and artifacts require a period of acceleration to reach their top speed. During this interval, a Golden Core cultivator could use their movement technique to burst forward and catch up, killing him.

Therefore, for short-distance escapes, one usually needed an agility movement technique, as these specialized arts could boost one's speed to the absolute limit in an extremely short time. Lei Dong tested his own top speed without aids. Propelled only by his own vital energy, his fastest flight speed only reached about eight hundred li per shichen, a result that surprised him. But immediately after activating the Ghost Shadow Evasion, this top speed surged to thirteen hundred li. This speed was about half that of an average Golden Core cultivator. The Ghost Shadow Evasion truly lived up to its name; an evasion technique that had persisted for so long must be formidable.

He experimented again, augmenting his Ghost Shadow Evasion with the Netherworld Grand Technique. As a result, the speed surged again to fifteen hundred li.

...